Yogurt is a fermented, slightly acidic, semi-solid food made of whole and skimmed milk and milk solids to which cultures of bacteria have been added. The milk can be cow's milk, goats milk, or milk from other mammals. Bacteria commonly used for producing yogurt are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus themophilus. Instead of preparing yogurt with bacteria cultures, methods have been developed for preparation of yogurt by chemical acidification, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,306, issued to Joseph R. Edwards. The term "yogurt" as used herein refers to both cultured and acidified yogurts.
Yogurt products require refrigeration to prevent degradation of product quality and spoiling. Such refrigeration is expensive, both for the producer of yogurt and for the retailer, and adds to the cost of commercial products. In addition, even with such refrigeration, yogurt products have a limited shelf-life.
Another problem with yogurt products is that they are bulky because of the high water content, and are inconvenient to carry outside of the home such as on camping trips, backpacking, and the like.
Therefore, there is a need for a yogurt food product which does not require refrigeration, which is tasty, and which can be conveniently used outside of the home.